


What Endures

by CourageousGryffindor



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hollstein - Freeform, Vampire Laura Hollis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 04:52:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6690394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourageousGryffindor/pseuds/CourageousGryffindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Weeks have passed since Laura and the gang's escape into the library. All of their friends are dead and now Laf is missing too. Laura will stop at nothing to make things rights, even if it means walking straight into the Dean's trap. </p>
<p>Picking up a few weeks after Season 2, this is my take on Season 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Endures

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning before we get started: This is going to get dark and, at points, pretty intense. I don't want to add too many spoilers but there will be death and sadness and pain...but all of that is only to make the happy moments that much happier. I am not one for doom and gloom endings.

Darkened forests and looming mountains cast creeping shadows onto the train as it sped across Styria. Laura should have been half-asleep save for the adrenaline and anxiety that coursed through her system, keeping every sense alert and awake. The seconds dragged on into hours and the hours felt like forever as each minute brought her closer and closer back _there_. Carmilla would flip if she knew Laura had gone. Hell, even Mattie had tried to stop her, waiting up well into the afternoon to catch Laura as she crept out of their hide-away city flat. But in the end Mattie had let her go. There was no way Laura would have let anyone stop her. Not even Carm.

No, this was something she had to do if she had any hope of living with herself. It was her fault. The school, the students, Mattie, Danny, JP, Perry, Kirsch, Laf. All of them: her fault. But this…maybe she could make something right after all.

The note was clenched tightly in her hand. An undersea anchor impossible to escape and yet, the only thing keeping her from floating away. She’d already read it enough times that she had it memorized. And not just in the way that she knew exactly what it said, but so much so that when she closed her eyes she could see the loop of every _g_ and the curve of every _s._ She knew the movements of the letters and how they fell and where they twisted. And she knew it was a trap. But she couldn’t let that stop her from trying. Not when there was still something she could do. Not when she could still save them.

JP had been the first to go. At least, the first that they knew about. After a week of hunkering down in that bunker of a library without a word from the surface. The only signal came from the library itself one night as the lights dimmed and the whole place went silent as though holding a vigil for a lost friend. Laura knew somehow what it meant, but she didn’t tell Laf. She thought news like that would break them.

And it did.

Next was Perry. They’d had hope at first, thinking she had somehow survived and was part of some resistance against Corvae. But as Laura and Carm and Laf all huddled round, watching the livestream video meant just for their little party, they became to realize, one-by-one, what had really happened. How the Dean had possessed Perry’s body, manipulated their movements, and killed their fellow students, their friends. And they had all been too busy to even notice. The Dean made a point of emphasizes that particular part, smirking as Laf disappeared to dry heave into the dirt. Laura shut down the connection between them. But not before the Dean mentioned the destruction she’d brought to the school. The Alchemy Club: dead. The Summers: dead. The Zetas: dead. Mel, Elsie, Natalie, Kirsch: all dead. _“And do you really think, after everything, that you’re safe in that old library?”_

So they ran. Not sure of where they were going but letting the library lead them as though it were on their side. As though it too wanted them to escape, to live, to keep fighting. For three nights they wandered through tunnels as the library stretched itself through the mountains, creating a passage of escape that hadn’t been there before. And all the while something followed them, right on their heels but always a step behind as though it were too timid to make a move. Still they kept on until the last day and the very much literal light at the end of the tunnel.

Which is when they lost Lafontaine.

Laura didn’t know how or why but when she woke up Laf was gone, stolen in the night. And the mysterious follower gone with them. It was as if the Dean had taken Laf, and only Laf, as if to taunt Laura. The Dean was torturing her, making her watch as she took her friends one-by-one, using them against her knowing that Laura couldn’t disobey if it were her friend’s life on the line. The note tucked tightly into the crevices of her fist was a testament to that fact.

But it hadn’t all been bad. A little less than a week into hiding in the outside world and there came a knock on the door. Laura ignored it. All her friends were dead and they never knocked anyway. But when it was Mattie’s voice that came through the wood, even Laura had to get up and see if it was true. And it was. She had no explanation other than following the library as it led her practically to their front door. But nothing about how she was alive. And Carmilla didn’t care, tears streaking down her face, her smile too wide to contain. And Laura didn’t care, because it had been so long since she’d seen that smile.

The train ground to a halt, tires screeching on the tracks. Laura glanced out the window at the sign that read _Silas Station_. It was her stop.

Orange and yellow light filtered through the pillars of the platform as the train pulled away into the setting sun, leaving Laura alone. She remembered the way well enough. Through the town and down onto the forest road. And from there it was almost a straight path back. Two hours. Tops. And Laura was certain that the path would be clear. How could it not be when she had a personal invitation from the Dean herself.

The stake strapped to Laura’s waist rubbed up against her thigh as she walked. Her rising panic only kept at bay by the rhythmic pressure, as though it were a pendulum, a counting reminder to keep breathing. The majority of the walk followed a main road that wound through the forest, the setting sun lighting the path as it stretched out before Laura. She was fairly certain that the road had been curvier and longer when her dad had driven down it that first day. But then again, hardly anything in Styria had turned out to be exactly what it seemed.

The normally two hour walk took her about thirty minutes.

A twisted metal gate towered before Laura, like something pulled from the darkened pits of the ocean. Iron pulling and curling around itself and reaching towards the sky. The last rays of light flooded through the bars, scattering across dead grass and turning everything the color of rust.

When Laura had first come to Silas the campus had been abuzz with activity and life. Clubs and students and questionably large squirrels all skittered across the grass. But now the whole place was quiet as the grave and Laura tried to forget that it was her fault.

Tentatively, Laura pushed against the gate, holding her breath and hoping that maybe it wouldn’t give. That maybe she wasn’t expected yet. Maybe she had the wrong date or the message had been a mistake. Maybe she had the upper hand.

The gate swung open with ease.

“Great…” Laura breathed. It was enough to shatter the silence but Laura didn’t care. If she had had any doubts that the Dean was waiting for her they were officially gone.

As Laura walked across the deadened lawn she noticed that, aside from the eerie stillness, very little had changed since their escape. Vordenburg’s anti-supernatural propaganda posters still hung from trees and building windows. The rubble of battle littered the north Quad, weapons still lying in the grass where the Summers had dropped them in surrender. All the signs of anarchy and oppression covered the campus as though it were suspended in time. And still the unsettling quiet permeated everything. Laura couldn’t stop the literal chill that crawled up her spine.

There was nothing specified in the note as to where Laura should meet the Dean, but she knew. The Dean’s manor appeared in the distance, nestled into the outskirts of the forest. Where else would she be but the very place they had all called home for those few months.

The manor house was the only thing on campus that looked different. The rubble and chaos of the siege had all but disappeared, leaving the building in pristine condition. Even the windows that had shattered in the wake of Corvae troops storming through the campus had been repaired. It was as though none of it had even happened. Cautiously, Laura walked up to the front door and turned the handle. Like the gates of the school it gave way easily to her touch, as though someone was waiting for her. Which someone was, Laura reminded herself. She was walking into a trap after all.

The house was dark. The only light a candle flicker coming from down the hallway towards the kitchens and the large dining room. Laura followed it, making a point of not noticing the large apartment on her right as she passed underneath the stairway. The thick smell of copper clung to the hallway and Laura was almost certain that it had not been there before.

Out of the corner of her eye, Laura caught sight of a streak of red slashed across the wallpaper. Her stomach dropped. It could be from anything: Mattie and Carmilla’s rampage, Perry’s attacks, the siege. But these thoughts didn’t help Laura as she struggled to breathe, the walls spinning and the floor threatening to fall away.

_Keep it together. Just think of Lafontaine, you’re here for Laf._ Laura told herself, shutting her eyes tight until the world stopped spinning. The hand holding the note brushed up against the stake at her leg as Laura brought it close to her chest, repeating the message like a mantra.

 

_Meet me at sunset alone and don’t tell anyone where you have gone. You can still save your friend. _

_You’ll know where to find me._

 

She could do this. She had to do this. For Laf. She owed them that much. Ignoring all but what was in front of her, Laura continued through the hallway and, pushing against the door to the dining room, entered into the light.

The dining room, which had laid unused and mostly untouched during her stay in the manor, was set as though for nobility. Candles flickered on the table, gently illuminating the gruesome paintings that hung on the walls. On the table was laid out at least three courses of food. Rich, thick soups and crusted biscuits were nestled in beside trays of turkey and platters of buttered potatoes. And at the far end were stacked every kind of chocolatey dessert. Piles of freshly baked cupcakes and bowls of sculpted mousse. Laura’s stomach whined but fear stayed her hunger as she looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes that had once belonged to her friend, now sitting across the room and glaring at her with the same distain as though Laura were little more than a pestering insect. Everything was so characteristic of the Dean that Laura had no problem seeing past her friendly disguise.

“I was starting to worry you hadn’t gotten my invitation.” The Dean said, her drawling voice breaking the heavy silence.

“How could I not?” Laura shot back, “You left it on my pillow. Speaking of which, how’d you find us, anyway?”

The Dean waved a delicate hand through the air, “I have no idea how they find anybody, they just do as they’re told.”

“Who?”

“Is that really what you came here to discuss?” The Dean leveled Laura with a look, her hand dropping back into her lap. “Because I would have thought you’d be much more concerned with the well-being of your friends.”

Laura’s hands latched onto the back of the chair in front of her, “Where’s Lafontaine? What did you do to them?” Thinking of the mission at hand was just enough to keep Laura’s fear from taking over again.

The Dean smiled, “Why don’t you sit and we can have a proper little chat. We haven’t had much of an opportunity since you made this whole mess.”

“Yeah, well, you were a little busy possessing me to actually talk to me.” Laura said, standing firmly behind the chair.

“That, my dear Miss Hollis, is because until recently, you were no more than an annoying pawn in a much larger game. But it seems,” she continued, her voice level, “that we may actually be able to help each other.”

“And why should I trust you?”

The Dean gestured again for Laura to take a seat. As Laura sat tentatively, the Dean continued, “This isn’t a matter of trust, Miss Hollis, it’s simply a matter of quid pro quo. I have someone that you want and you have someone that I want.”

A lead weight dropped into her stomach.  “Carmilla….”

“Yes.”

Laura’s nails dug into the denim of her jeans as she tried to keep her voice steady, “I…I won’t do it. Whatever it is…I won’t help you hurt her.”

The Dean laughed, “Do you really think that this is negotiable? It’s already done. From the second you stepped foot outside of that run-down excuse for a hide-out you had already agreed to it.”

The panic had settled behind Laura’s skull, making every inch of her head buzz with fear. “What? What are you talking about?”

“How did I ever lose my school to one so simple as yourself?” The Dean said, shaking her head. “The arrangement is that your friend remains save and sound as long as you help to bring Mircalla back to me. And you did come as you were told and your friend _shall_ remain safe in my care and Mircalla will indeed walk straight into my trap, just as you did, in order to save _you_.”

“No!” Laura stood up suddenly, letting the chair topple back. “You can’t just…I never agreed to…”

“Is that honestly what you think?” The Dean had not moved from her seat. “I can do whatever I please, you insolent child. Now,” she gestured at the fallen chair, “if I were you I’d sit back down before you upset someone.”

Laura knew she was right, though was the loath to admit it. She had to be cleverer about this. There was no way she was going to get out of there by shear force. But maybe, just maybe, she could talk her way out. But first she had to make sure that Laf actually was okay and get the Dean to show her just where her friend was being hidden away. After all, if she didn’t at least try and save Laf then this whole trip was for not. Setting the chair upright, Laura sat back down.

“Why don’t you go ahead and eat.” The Dean said, as though nothing had happened. “It’s not as if anyone else here would enjoy it.”

“No thanks,” Laura snarled, “I’ve learned not to eat food offered by witches.”

The corners of the Dean’s mouth twitched upwards in amusement. Silence filtered into the empty space between them.

Again the Dean was the first to break it. “Out of curiosity, just how were you planning on getting out of here? You must have known you were walking straight into a trap and yet, here you are.”

Laura squared her jaw, “Like you said, I didn’t come here for small talk. What did you do with Laf?”

This time the Dean actually did smile. “Very well, since you’re so insistent: Lafontaine, why don’t you come in here.”

A single dark figure bowed into the room. Laura looked for a second figure, perhaps bound and chained, to follow in behind the first. Yet, as the figure came into the light, Laura knew that there would be no prisoner. Lafontaine glared at Laura. Their face was pale and taught, showing the difficulty of the past few weeks, and they moved with a grace that was unfamiliar. Something was wrong but Laura couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

“Laf…what did she do to you?” Laura asked, not taking her eyes from her friend.

A smile played across Lafontaine’s face. In the flickering light it looked somehow twisted, “Nothing. At least, nothing I didn’t want her to do.”

“But…” Something was definitely off. The air felt too thick and Laf’s smile was too wide, “But I thought you were kidnapped. I…I thought you were being tortured or used as a human feeding trough or…or something.”

The Dean laughed, causing Laura to swivel her attention back around. “I told you that I had kept your friend safe. And I am nothing if not a woman of my word.”

“I don’t understand.” Laura’s head snapped back and forth between the two of them. “Do you have them under a spell or something?”

“I told you, L, she hasn’t done anything to me.” Lafontaine said. “No spells or brain-washing or kidnapping. I hate to break it to ya but I chose to come back here.”

“No…” Laura’s head was swimming as she tried to articulate her disbelief. “Why would you…you wouldn’t just…”

Lafontaine turned to look at Laura and for the first time their eyes met. “She has Perry.”

Laura’s heart sunk. She knew what that meant. Laf would do anything to ensure that Perry was safe. If it had been turned around, if it had been Carmilla, Laura knew she would do the same thing. After all, wasn’t that what had caused their present predicament? And if Laf was there of their own free will, then any hopes of rescuing them had just gone out the window. Which meant that Laura’s main focus had become finding a way to get herself out and right now there was no time for her to process the feelings of betrayal and grief that seemed to be cutting their way through her gut.

“See, as promised: your friend safe and sound. Now about your half of our agreement.” The Dean was smiling again, the firelight casting shadows across her face. As she spoke, Lafontaine moved around to stand beside her.

Laura was almost too distracted to respond. “I didn’t agree to anything.” She said finally, hoping that she wasn’t being too obvious as she looked around the room, searching for possible escape routes.

“Semantics.” The Dean said, waving her hand dismissively. “You’re here and you’re going to stay here and that’s all that really matters.” She paused. “And please don’t embarrass yourself by trying to escape. There really is no hope of that.”

But Laura wasn’t listening. Instead she had decided on an old servant’s entrance as her escape route. She knew the passage went through the kitchen and out a back door, but if she doubled back in the kitchen and went through her old apartment she might actually be able to outrun them. After all, the Dean might be pure evil but she was currently inhabiting a human body.

Driven by sure determination to not be used in any way to hurt Carmilla, Laura threw her chair back and made a dash for the doorway behind her.

She got about halfway to the door when Lafontaine caught her in a flurry.

“Now what did I just tell me?” The Dean chastised.

“Laf? How did you are so fast -“ Realization hit Laura with the force of a steam engine.

“Do you really think that I would settle for a human servant?” The Dean asked, finally rising from her seat and walking over to where Laf had Laura in a tight embrace. “I was just evening the score. You already have an undying loyal follower on your side and now, so do I. And besides, I may be able to possess humans, but vampires are so much more easily controlled.” She snapped her fingers and Lafontaine released Laura. “So many heightened sensations and none so strong and demanding as desire. A desire for blood. A desire for power. A desire for love. As long as you know what it is that they want, you have them in the palm of your hand.”

As the Dean circled around, Laura began to slowly inch towards the table, hoping that the silverware was real silver. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but it might be enough to slow Lafontaine down so that Laura could escape. At least it was worth a shot.

But Lafontaine was too quick and before Laura was able to grab a knife she was trapped once again in their embrace.

“Are you serious?” The Dean snarled. “You still think you have a chance don’t you? That there’s some spark of hope for you. Well, let me tell you something, moppet, this little game you think you’re playing is over. It was amusing at first but I’ve grown weary of it. Though don’t worry, I’m certain we’ll be seeing each other soon. But for now: Lawrence take care of this mongrel for me will you!” She called out into the hall.

The call was answered by what Laura assumed was another vampire, but she was hardly paying attention. “Laf. Laf, please. You have to let me go. We’re friends, right? You have to help me. You have to-“

“No, Laura!” Lafontaine snapped. “I don’t have to do anything and you know why? Because everything I’ve done to help you, to help this fucking school, _you_ threw away. And for what? A girl who you won’t even talk to?” Laura twisted to see Lafontaine’s face. There were tears streaked down their cheeks, but they weren’t from sadness. “Well I’m done helping you. Because this is what happens when I do. I lose my school. I lose my mind. I lose Perry. And don’t try and tell me that you wouldn’t do the same because you already have.”

Laura was about to respond, to tell Lafontaine that she was sorry, to say that it’s okay, but she was cut short as the tall vampire who had come to quiet her and take her away grabbed hold of her shoulder. As Laura turned her heart stopped and she suddenly had trouble breathing. Her whole head seemed to swim in a thick fog and the only word that Laura could manage was a name.

“Danny?

Before Laura towered the very woman who had died in her arms. Except it couldn’t be her because if it was then she had to be a…a…Laura couldn’t dare find the word for fear of losing whatever strength she had left. Yet, this figure had the same flowing red hair, the same look of determination, the same sad eyes. And when she spoke it was with the same voice, “I’m sorry, Laura.”

It was all too much. Laura barely felt anything more than a shift in pressure as something sharp was plunged into her chest. Whatever it was that they had just injected her with was pointless, because by the time Danny was pulling it back out, Laura was already falling into darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> This story and others like it are made possible through the kudos and comments left by readers like you. Thank you.


End file.
